Supertata Alessia offers great kids clubs for the little ones: http://kidsklub.ch.
In July special partnership between Kids' Klub and the Montessori school (www.irmamontessori.ch). Programmes will be open to children ages 4-12. For infos and more details: info@kidsklub.ch

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Just a little reminder: Expat Expo is on tomorrow. Don't miss THE Expat event of the year!

If you are an expat you surely have heard about the Expat Expo that is returning to Lugano for the third year. If not, this is your chance to get to meet and greet many expats and like-minded locals who are offering their services, knowledge, expertise and products.

50 exhibitors from all over Switzerland along with many local companies and clubs from Lugano will be on hand to greet you and introduce you to their specialties and make you feel more at home in Ticino, whether you are here for a week or a lifetime! Join them for a day of discovery!

The Expat Expo was a huge success last year and lots of fun. It is a chance to meet and learn about clubs, schools, businesses and services that cater to the English speaking community in the Ticino.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

There's a new kid in town. The International School of Como is opening a new section in Lugano called International School of Ticino.

The programme is welcoming students aged 3 to 6 to start. ISC will open an Early Years school in Lugano, more precisely in Lamone. For several months they have been working on its organization and start-up, as well as the construction work that has progressed rapidly. The new building will be ready at the end of March, and an Open Day will be organized as well as a visit to the facility for those of you who would like to attend.

For more info, you can meet the team directly at the Expat Expo on Sunday, March 30th, 2014 and learn more about the school or give them a call.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Would you like to see your photograph published in the 2nd edition of Education Guide Switzerland due out end-of-May this year? It is a comprehensive catalogue of all English language schools and academic programs in Switzerland.

The organizers (http://www.knowitall.ch) are looking for one winning photo per canton. Each photo will be used as a full-page canton chapter separator. There are also have a few extra categories like “Academic Extras”, “Just Across the Border”, and “Other” which you can explore in the first edition of the book. They'll consider entries for those chapters as well.

RULES:
- Send in 1 photo per email (put EDUCATION PHOTO COMPETITION in subject line) to education@knowitall.ch specifying which canton it is for.
- Each photo must have a recognizable name and not a series of numbers and must be digital or scanned. ONLY photos sent by email or through the website will be accepted.
- You must give your name, address, and telephone numbers to be eligible.
- Photos should have something to do with education, schools, universities, or the canton. Views of listed campuses and views from listed campuses are welcome.
- Any photos that include recognizable faces of minor children will require signed permission from parents. Signed permissions are the entire responsibility of the photographer.
- Finished size of photo used will be A5 vertical (148mm x 210mm). Photos will be cropped by Know-it-all passport® publishing to visually fit the page.
- There are no maximum number of photos that can be submitted.
-The better the quality of the photo, the more likely it will be considered.
- Color photographs, please, but not necessary.
- Amateur and professional photographers are welcome to submit their entries.
- All ages can participate.

PRIZES:
- Each winner will each receive one copy of Education Guide Switzerland, 2nd Edition hot-off-the-press.
- The winners will be invited on a specific day to come to see the book being printed in Geneva at l’Imprimerie Nationale Rochat Baumann (transport not included).
- The winner’s name will be printed along with their photo in Education Guide Switzerland, 2nd Edition.
- The winning photos (and some honorable mentions) as well as a photo of the visit to Imprimerie Nationale Rochat Baumann visit will be published on the website www.knowitall.ch.
- The winners will be notified individually.
- The winners and their photos may also enjoy being featured on various multimedia platforms, including but not limited to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

DEADLINE: is Monday, March 31st, 2014 at midnight!

So, head out and about the Ticino to take your special photo that will make it into the next edition of Switzerland's Education Guide.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Have you ever heard of the book Swiss Watching? It was on the Financial Times Book of the Year 2010 list. In Swiss Watching, Diccon Bewes' expert knowledge dispels the myths and unravels the true meaning of “Swissness”. It is an original and intriguing read about our landlocked island, going behind the stereotypes of banks and skis, francs and cheese.

Diccon Bewes is a full-time writer and speaker. After ten years at Lonely Planet and Holiday Which? magazine, he has now been living in Bern for eight years and continues to confound Swiss expectations of a British expat by not drinking tea.

Following the International success of his first book, he presents his latest publication: Slow Train to Switzerland, a fascinating travel adventure which retraces the first conducted tour of Switzerland, led by Thomas Cook in 1863. By following the same itinerary, Diccon Bewes discovers how much of Switzerland has changed - or hasn't!

Head down to the Scuola Club Migros on Friday, March 28th, 2014 at 6pm. The main event is from 7 to 8.30pm. The talk will be preceeded by a reception and followed by Q & A and book signing.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

If you live in Switzerland, you will heard and seen - maybe even tasted - Rivella, created by Robert Barth in 1952, which is produced from milk whey. It's one of Switzerland's National drinks next to Sinalco, Isostar and Ovomaltine. Apparently, the name Rivella was inspired by the Ticino location "Riva San Vitale" and derived from rivelazione, in Italian, "revelation."

27 times Rivella's Family Contest organizers are building up their tents this winter throughout Switzerland. Don't miss the Ticino event in Bosco Gurin next Sunday, March 16th, 2014. Families can take advantage from this unbeatable offer: a day in the snow with the whole family for just CHF 85-.

What is the Rivella Family Contest all about?
Three to five family members start together with ski or snowboard down a simple race course. each team must have at least one grandparent, aunt/uncle or godmother/godfather, but max. two adults participating and at least one child born in 2000 or younger. The time stops when the last rider of the team crosses the finish line. Sounds like fun and an excellent excuse to get your family into gear before the snow melts.

Once you've crossed the finish line and the skis are stripped you can enjoy the activity programme organized by Swiss Ski and Rivella. The partners Reka and Switzerland Tourism also ensure attractive prizes.

The registration includes the following:
Race entry fee
Day ticket pass for max. 5 people
A warm snack at the end of the race
Children's entertainment by Swiss-Ski
Surprise gift for the whole family
Rivella six-pack

Sunday, March 9, 2014

When great minds think alike....call it coincidence or call it obvious - given that yesterday the world celebrated Int'l. Women's Day - in any case, following my post of March 8th raising awareness for a project called "Girl Rising", tonight I stumble across a post on Lugano's Expat facebook page announcing the screening of this film. "Girl Rising" is a global campaign for girls' education. It brings together visionaries: girls, women, boys and men who know that educating girls is the smartest investment of our time. You can join the movement. Find out how.

Following is the film's trailer to give some insight why your support is needed:

To secure booking, payment in advance is advised. Insert your name and "Girl Rising" so the organizers know who paid. Please contact at Anna-Marie.Mathew@nielsen.com

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Happy International Women’s Day! Ideally I would send each and every one of my reader's a bunch of yellow mimosas but in this virtual world I will instead share some amazing facts about women:

- Researchers have claimed that women speak about 20,000 words a day on average. It’s just 7,000 for men.
- According to Care.org, women produce half the world’s food but own only one percent of its farmland.
- Mary Queen of Scots has been attributed to creating the world’s first golf course.
- There are currently 17 countries with women as heads of government, heads of state, or both; this, according to the UN, is more than double what it was in 2005.
- Of the 161 million women currently living in the US, nearly 85.4 million (54 percent) are mothers.
- Generally considered to be the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji was written in Japan around AD 1000 by Murasaki Shikibu—a woman.
- The average woman owns more than 25 pairs of shoes.
- Research has shown that the probability of a woman giving birth to a baby girl instead of a baby boy increases significantly the nearer she lives to the equator.
- The two highest IQs ever recorded on a standard test both belong to women.
- According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 39 million girls worldwide are not enrolled in school and are denied a secondary education.

To learn more about the struggle for girls’ education around the world, please watch the film *Girl Rising", presented by 10X10. The documentary, directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins, tells the stories of nine extraordinary girls from nine countries, written by nine celebrated writers and narrated by nine renowned actresses including Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Did you know that yesterday was World Compliment Day? Thanks to Newly Swissed I am now in the loop and have discovered the most uplifting video. You'll never guess who produced this real life campaign ... MIGROS! Trust the good ol' supermarket chain to come up with something like this. If something touches a Swiss' heart, it is either Coop or Migros.

Some think Swiss are cold and humourless, I (along with other Swiss bloggers) am here to prove the contrary. This commercial does more than simply promote a product. Apart from the main character Stefu, none of the people in the scenes were actors, and nothing was rehearsed. Stefu, a Swiss German youngster, takes a trip across Switzerland and brightens people's day by simply paying them a compliment.

Look carefully and you'll recognize some places in the Ticino... and don't forget, look someone in the eye today and pay them a compliment, no matter in which language!

Followers

Globetrotting

The Mom song

Cheap flights

Voice Recognition Elevator

La leçon de géographie

Things I've learned from my children:

Always look in the oven before you turn it on. Plastic toys do not like ovens.

The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earth worms dizzy. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

Super glue is forever.

Play Dough and Microwave should never be used in the same sentence.

Certain LEGOs will pass through the digestive Tract of a four year old.

A six year old can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36 year old man says they can only do it in the movies. A magnifying glass can start a fire, even on an overcast day.

Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

When you hear the toilet flush and the words "Uh-oh," it's already too late.

You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using the ceiling fan as a bat, you Have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

The glass in windows (even double pane) doesn't Stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. foot house 4 inches deep.

If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the Motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 by 20 foot room.